DECA shows appreciation

Wednesday

Sep 30, 2009 at 12:01 AMOct 1, 2009 at 9:31 AM

SOMERSET — The Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) chapter at Somerset High School was presented a check for $1,000 at Wal-mart in Swansea last week and the students in the program also showed their appreciation for the people who have supported them during the past couple of years. DECA is a program in which students learn about businesses and marketing and then using the skills they have studied, compete against each other in regional, state and national/international career development conferences. The grant money and funding from the Somerset Public Schools budget has helped with the expenses for the program over the years.

SOMERSET — The Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) chapter at Somerset High School was presented a check for $1,000 at Wal-mart in Swansea last week and the students in the program also showed their appreciation for the people who have supported them during the past couple of years. DECA is a program in which students learn about businesses and marketing and then using the skills they have studied, compete against each other in regional, state and national/international career development conferences. The grant money and funding from the Somerset Public Schools budget has helped with the expenses for the program over the years.

"It also helped fund some kids who could not afford to go to the competitions without their help," James Teixeira, advisor to the Somerset High School DECA chapter, said of the contributions from Wal-mart and the Somerset Public Schools budget.

Mr. Teixeira, who used to work as an executive in the business sector before deciding to change careers and become a school teacher several years ago, said the DECA program is a community partnership between the school and businesses. After receiving the grant from Wal-Mart, students Ryan Courville and Zachary Federico presented certificates of appreciation to Deb Ganem, good works coordinator for Wal-mart, Somerset School Superintendent Richard Medeiros and Somerset High School Principal Robert Pineault. The students, Mr. Teixeira and Reginald Pelagio, content coordinator for the business education department at Somerset High School, appreciated the grant money that the Swansea store awarded to the DECA chapter and the support that Mr. Medeiros and Mr. Pineault gave to the program by approving money from the school budget to help with expenses.

"They do a great job," Mr. Medeiros said of the people involved in the DECA chapter. "The program is all student centered. My thanks go out to Wal-mart for their support as well, and their continued support of education."

Mr. Pineault said he is proud of the students and teachers in the DECA program at the high school. He said they compete against larger schools, but still hold their own, winning lots of awards. Mr. Pineault is a former business teacher.

"We have many different types of spirit at the high school," Mr. Pineault said. "I call this academic spirit at work."

Courville said the entry fees for some of the DECA conferences can be $200 or $300 for students, so a lot of students needed the financial support from Wal-mart and the school administration to attend the events.

"It was much appreciated," said Courville who attended the national/international DECA career development conference in California earlier this year after qualifying by doing well enough in the regional and state competitions.

Mr. Teixeira said funding from the school budget and donations are used to pay for entry fees to the career development conferences, transportation, lodging and food for some competitions. During the competitions, students take written tests and do role plays in front of judges from different industries. Besides helping students with financial need, Mr. Teixeira said the funding is used to help defray costs for other students in the program, as well.

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